Take part in an e-consultation into criminal justice spending – Youth Justice Board

Posted July 4th, 2008 in criminal justice, news, prisons, probation by sally

“The justice reinvestment inquiry has been set up to examine whether the resources currently given to the criminal justice system are being used effectively or whether there are alternative strategies which would give a better return for society than traditional methods of dealing with offenders.”

Full story

Youth Justice Board, 4th July 2008

Source: www.yjb.gov.uk

BBC mini series Criminal Justice paints a distorted picture of the criminal justice system – The Bar Council

Posted June 30th, 2008 in criminal justice, media, press releases by sally

“Tonight the BBC airs the first episode in its five part drama series Criminal Justice. The series shows the experience of a young man falsely accused of a crime and his journey through the criminal justice system. The character, Ben Coulter, is first a police suspect, later a defendant and then a prisoner.”

Full press release

The Bar Council, 30th June 2008

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

TV’s legal fictions don’t do the profession justice – The Guardian

Posted June 30th, 2008 in courts, criminal justice, media, special report by sally

“Most people’s knowledge of the English legal system comes from watching TV drama. In most states of the US, trials are televised. Viewers see what actually goes on in a courtroom, including the functions and conduct of the judges and lawyers. Here, a modest scheme to televise some proceedings (though not criminal trials) seems to have been quietly dropped. So the main avenue for describing our legal system is through fiction: novels, films and – the most important in terms of the numbers reached – television.”

Full story

The Guardian, 30th June 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Progress with government’s response to Corston Report – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 25th, 2008 in criminal justice, press releases, prisons, women by sally

“Maria Eagle has made a statement on progress with the government’s response to Baroness Corston’s report of a Review of Women with Particular Vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System.”

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 24th June 2008

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Teenagers targeted in crime crackdown – The Independent

Posted June 23rd, 2008 in criminal justice, news, young offenders by sally

“Thousands more teenagers are being dragged into the criminal justice system for petty offences, threatening to set them on the path to adult crime, ministers are warned today. The numbers of under-18s being convicted or formally cautioned has almost doubled in some parts of the country, the Institute for Public Policy Research has disclosed.”

Full story

The Independent, 23rd June 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

20 ways to fight crime? – The Independent

Posted June 19th, 2008 in criminal justice, news by sally

“Louise Casey has put forward drastic proposals to improve our justice system – but are they too radical?”

Full story

The Independent, 19th June 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Unaccountable’ criminal justice system must change, says review – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 18th, 2008 in criminal justice, news by sally

“Changes must be made to the criminal justice system because it is perceived by the public as ‘distant, unaccountable and unanswerable’, a year-long Government review has concluded.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 18th June 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Planned changes to youth justice system aimed at keeping more children out of jail – The Guardian

Posted June 17th, 2008 in criminal justice, news, young offenders, youth courts by sally

“A shakeup of the youth justice system is being planned by ministers that would see a failing punitive policy replaced by a more welfare-oriented, early-intervention approach to dealing with children in trouble. As part of a youth crime action plan to be published this summer, the Home Office has recommended that responsibility and funding for tackling youth crime – including local youth offending teams – should be moved to new, local authority-run ‘children’s trusts’.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th June 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Explaining attitudes towards the justice system in the UK and Europe – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 11th, 2008 in criminal justice, reports by sally

“The aim of this study was to analyse what determines citizens’ confidence in the justice system, by framing levels of confidence in the wider European context. It asks whether levels of confidence reflect simply the performance of the justice system, or are shaped by other factors, such as personal characteristics or attitudes towards public institutions. This research therefore focuses on the broader societal context of these attitudes, and on the opinions of citizens in general, rather than just those of users of the justice system.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 11th June 2008

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Law Reform, Victims and Witnesses Bill – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 9th, 2008 in bills, criminal justice, news, victims, witnesses by sally

“The Law Reform, Victims and Witnesses Bill aims to deliver a more effective, transparent and responsive justice system for victims, witnesses and the wider public.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 9th June 2008

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Ministers promise to rehabilitate young offenders as well as punish them – The Times

Posted June 9th, 2008 in criminal justice, news, young offenders by sally

“A new approach to youth justice was promised by ministers yesterday in which equal weight would be given to prevention, enforcement and the rehabilitation of young offenders.”

Full story

The Times, 9th June 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Government launches first ever national service framework for female offenders – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 2nd, 2008 in criminal justice, news, women by sally

“Ministerial Champion for Women in the Criminal Justice System, Maria Eagle MP, today launched a framework setting out the national strategy for delivering services to female offenders.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 30th May 2008

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008

Posted May 15th, 2008 in criminal justice, immigration, legislation by sally

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 published

Full text of Act (PDF)

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Cherie slams Labour on ‘factory farm’ jails – The Guardian

Posted May 12th, 2008 in criminal justice, news, prisons by sally

“Cherie Blair has attacked the government’s handling of the criminal justice system by accusing Britain’s jails of failing to protect the public. In an outspoken speech that has drawn a strong rebuttal from the Ministry of Justice, Blair, a judge and QC, said at a human rights seminar that Britain had a ‘factory farm attitude to imprisonment’.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th May 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Culture of complacency’ in criminal justice system – The Independent

Posted April 29th, 2008 in criminal justice, news by sally

” The criminal justice system was condemned for its ‘culture of complacency’ tonight (28th April).”

Full story

The Independent, 28th April 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Wife of murder victim Garry Newlove slams ‘disgraceful’ court system – The Times

Posted April 23rd, 2008 in criminal justice, murder, news, young offenders by sally

” A woman who saw her husband kicked to death by a gang of teenagers outside their house in Cheshire told MPs that the courts system was ‘utterly disgraceful’.”

Full story

The Times, 22nd April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

The CPS is putting prosecution standards at risk – The Times

“Justice and the public interest seem to come a poor second to targets that the Director of Public Prosecutions is insisting on.”

Full story

The Times, 22nd April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Regina (Corner House Research and Another) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office – Times Law Reports

Posted April 16th, 2008 in criminal justice, fraud, law reports, Saudi Arabia by sally

Regina (Corner House Research and Another) v Director of the Serious Fraud Office

Queen’s Bench Divisional Court

“The rule of law required that an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into bribery and corruption should be discontinued only by the independent judgment of the director of that office and not in response to a threat by a foreign power.”

The Times, 16th April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

‘No one is entitled to interfere with the course of our justice’ – The Guardian

Posted April 11th, 2008 in bribery, corruption, criminal justice, law reports, news, Saudi Arabia by sally

“Eighteen months after the Serious Fraud Office abandoned the BAE inquiry, two high court judges yesterday ruled the decision unlawful in a judgment that was stinging in its criticism of both the SFO and the British government for caving in to pressure from Saudi Arabia. The legal action was brought by the anti-bribery pressure group Corner House Research and the Campaign Against Arms Trade. Here are edited extracts from the summary judgment published yesterday.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th April 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council and Law Society renew warning to Peers over Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill – The Bar Council

Posted April 2nd, 2008 in criminal justice, immigration, press releases by sally

“The Bar Council, which represents over 15,000 barristers in England and Wales, has today urged members of the House of Lords to amend further a key provision of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, which is currently being considered in the Upper House.”

Full story

The Bar Council, 2nd April 2008

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk